Immigration momentum grows in House

The Republican-led House will take its deepest dive yet into immigration reform this week, rushing to play catchup with the Senate on the chief domestic policy battle this year.

The House bipartisan group, which has labored for four years without releasing anything, is finally on the verge of producing a bill. The House Judiciary Committee is holding its first immigration markup on Tuesday on an enforcement-centered bill that Democrats abhor.

“He’s the speaker of the House, the leader of the House and of the Republican Conference,” Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), head of the CHC immigration task force, said in an interview Monday. “He wants to get comprehensive immigration reform; we want to get comprehensive immigration reform passed. We should form a pact. Let’s cement it this Wednesday.”

The dual-track approach could signal actual momentum on House immigration reform, which so far has lagged considerably behind efforts on the other side of the Capitol. The Senate is considering the bipartisan Gang of Eight bill on the floor and may vote on it before the July 4th recess.

After several setbacks and one member withdrawing his support in an intractable disagreement over health care, the House group — now composed of three Republicans and four Democrats — appears poised to unveil its bill. That could come as early as Wednesday, although later in the week or early next week is more likely.

Negotiators have to meet again for the finishing touches and to review the language that has come back from the House legislative counsel. And the four Democratic negotiators — Reps. Xavier Becerra and Zoe Lofgren of California, John Yarmuth of Kentucky and Gutierrez — will update all House Democrats at a caucus meeting on Tuesday.

The group’s Democratic members also are having smaller briefings with different members throughout the week — meetings with the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus are on tap for Tuesday, while New Democrats — a center-left coalition — and the Congressional Progressive Caucus are scheduled for Wednesday.

“Democratic members are seeking input from their caucus on the bipartisan agreement the working group is drafting into legislative language,” a Democratic aide said. “It’s their hope that once all the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed, they will be able to introduce the measure with support from both sides of the aisle.”

But the focus will be on the meeting between Boehner and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. It is believed this will be the first time that a Republican House speaker has met with the group, which is composed of all Democrats.